Speaking via videoconference, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the country remains trapped in a prolonged political, humanitarian and development crisis. “Yemen is so much more than the containment of a threat,” he said. “The cost of inaction is high.” Mr. Grundberg stressed the urgent need for progress towards...
“Without funding, asylum seekers are left in limbo – undocumented, unsupported and increasingly desperate,” said Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection. Her comments follow a 41 per cent budget cut to the UN agency’s operations in the country that have had devastating consequences. “This is not about luxuries; the...
Special Representative María Isabel Salvador told ambassadors in the Security Council that a “deliberate and coordinated” campaign is being waged by organized crime groups to expand territorial control and paralyse the capital, Port-au-Prince. Recent gang attacks have targeted previously unaffected areas such as Delmas and Pétion-Ville, while the storming...
Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that the country had reached “yet another crisis point,” with heavily armed gangs expanding their control, public institutions in ruins and a humanitarian emergency deepening by the day. “I am not sure the usual description of gang violence captures the amount...
From embarking on a digital revolution to fill the gaping gender divide to ensuring a seat at decision making tables, the new plan builds on the landmark 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which presented a blueprint for achieving gender equality and advancing women’s rights. UN Women chief Sima...
“The rapid and uninterrupted expansion of the conflict, particularly in South Kivu province, continues to inflict a heavy toll on the civilian population,” said UN humanitarian coordinator for DRC, Bruno Lemarquis. “The population can no longer continue to pay such a heavy price for a conflict that continues to spread...
In a new report, UN investigators detailed multiple attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities, markets, and schools, as well as ethnically motivated summary executions. “The continued and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as summary executions, sexual violence and other violations and abuses, underscore the utter failure by...
According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, the updated death toll – which includes fatalities recorded since 8 October 2023 – is 58 per cent higher than the 1,900 people killed during the 34-day conflict in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah. “Across the country, at least 71 people were...
Mr. Stiell’s strong message to government negotiators comes as the latest UN climate conference, running in the UAE’s main city, Dubai, since last Thursday, reaches the halfway mark with agreement on financing for climate adaptation and the fate of fossil fuels still up in the air. “All governments must give...
Paulo Pinheiro spoke to UN News this week after presenting his latest report to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, which examines a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues. The Syrian war, which began in March 2011, is at its “worst point” in four years, he said,...
She is currently deployed with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, to the north of her country, supporting refugees who are fleeing conflict in Sudan. She has been speaking to UN News ahead of World Humanitarian Day which is commemorated annually on 19 August. “Saving lives became a passion of mine when...
Speaking from Kinshasa, Dr. Jorge Castilla, WHO’s Senior Emergency Officer, told journalists at the regular briefing in Geneva there had been a major increase in displacement due to ongoing violence fuelled by armed groups, leaving around 7.4 million in need of health assistance. Disease and displacement Since March 2022, almost...